PRECM 08-01-1979 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Council has very specific administrative responsibility in the regional park system. The law provides that "the Metropolitan Counci-1 shall review, with the advice of the Commission, each master plan to determine whether it is consistent with the Council's policy plan." The law further provides that "the Metropolitan Council, with the advice of the Commission, may make grants from any funds available to it for recreation open space purposes, to any municipality, park district or county located wholly or partially in the Metropolitan Area, to cover the cost, or any portion of the cost, of acquiring or developing regional recreation open space in accordance with the policy plan." However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Minnesota DNR are not required to submit master plans to the Council for parks under their jurisdiction that are part of the regional park system. And the Council cannot make grants to either agency for purposes of acquiring or developing these facilities. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Minnesota DNR actions that provide recreational opportunity in the Metropolitan Area have a substantial impact on the Council's plans for the regional park system. The concentration of state parks outside the Metropolitan Area was a factor in the beginnings of the regional system. The Hennepin County Park Reserve District was established in 1957 to provide similar parks in Hennepin County. .Since then, the counties, together with the park reserve district and a few municipalities, have. assumed primary responsibility for providing regional recreation open space in this Area, with regional administration provided by the Council and Commission. There are two basic alternatives for addressing this issue. One would be to retain the functional system approach, and ask the state legislature to require the Minnesota DNR to submit master plans to the Council for state parks in the Metropolitan Area, as well as the management plans it submits to the State Planning Agency. The second approach would be to remove state parks and federal units from the regional park system. These complementary facilities would still be considered in regional planning. 3. MASTER PLANS FOR REGIONAL RECREATION OPEN SPACE Three questions regarding which. agencies should prepare master plans for regional recreation open space should be addressed. (1) Should municipalities be encouraged to submit master plans for regional recreation. open space under their jurisdiction directly to the Council? Or should.-counties and special. park districts prepare countywide master plans that include appropriate municipally-owned facilities? The 1974 Metropolitan Parks Act defines and directs the preparation of master plans for regional recreation open space. By definition, a master plan is ''a plan describing the boundaries of specific parks or other regional recreation open space and the nature. of their development and use." 4